St. Tropez, Back in the Day

I thought I had finally had my fill of “expat in Provence” memoirs but last night I snuggled in with A Feast at the Beach and am so glad I did. It takes less than two hours to read…maybe three if you savor all the recipes…and it’s a delight. 
A Feast at the Beach (3L Publishing, Sacramento, CA) is William Widmaier’s loving narrative about the glorious vacations (summer, mostly, but also Christmas

New St. Tropez Hotel Scores with Michelin Three-Star Chef

Love Pierre Gagnaire's food?  You're in luck: The Paris-based Michelin-three star chef is in charge of the kitchen at the 37-room Hotel Sezz Saint-Tropez, which opened in mid July. In the 60-seat restaurant called Colette, Gagnaire says he has “gone back to his roots with simple Mediterranean dishes such as freshly caught fish, grilled steaks, and barbecues” but there’s no shortage of lobster

The Stress-less Côte d’Azur

Everyone loves the idea of the South of France in summer. But the reality? The crowds, the traffic, the high prices, the attitude? Not so much.
But at Club Med Opio in Provence--which reopened three years ago after a $40 million renovation--it's possible to avoid every one of those height-of-the-season hassles. Within an hour of my arrival, I felt blessed rather than stressed. Call it the

Air France to Take On Ryanair and EasyJet?

La Tribune reports this morning that Air France is planning to go head to head with EasyJet and Ryanair by launching a range of low-cost domestic flights linking French cities. The plan is to use Nice as a base for the operation. I checked in with my contact at Air France who said the company had no comment at this time.

The story says Air France will use its sister brand, Transavia, to offer